Every month, we want to provide you with an update of our activities. They will complement our bi-monthly newsletters and will arrive in your inbox on the final Friday of the month. 

So, what’s been happening this month at SPPA?

  • SPPA has begun accepting renewals of Founding Memberships. To do this, please follow these steps:
  1. Visit the UCL Online Store from the link here, and select the Full Member option. This won’t affect your current Founding Member status.
  2. Log-in with the information you used to access the UCL store last time, and complete payment for your package i.e. student/unwaged, group discount.
  3. The SPPA team will get an automatic notification of your renewal and will approve your Founding Membership renewal on our system.
  • SPPA is still recruiting its new individual and organisational membership types. You can find out more about these new membership types on our website here.
    • We’d like to offer a warm welcome to our second and third organisational members – KJSH and Camphill School Aberdeen.
  • The SPPA team has submitted SPPA’s application for charitable status. It is currently being processed by an independent legal team. After submission to The Charity Commission, we can expect a response within 12 weeks.
  • We have announced our theme for the 2018 SPPA conference, taking place in Edinburgh on 28 September 2018. Booking will be open soon after Easter. We have also opened our call-for-workshops, with 10 spaces available on a variety of themes. If you’re interested in holding a workshop at the conference, please see our informative flyer here.
  • We have been busy developing a programme of regional networking events.
    • We have planned two regional events to take place in the North West of England.
      • The first will be taking place at UCLan in Preston from 5.30pm on Wednesday 18 April. Find out more and book here.
      • The second will be taking place in Salford from 5.30pm on Tuesday 24 April. Find out more and book here.
    • We’re keen to host regional events in all areas of the UK. Please get in touch with sppa@ucl.ac.uk to discuss plans for an event in your area.
  • We are currently supporting 3 Special Interest Groups (SIGs), which are available for all members to join. Follow the links below to visit the Facebook Group for each SIG.
    • Creativity, open for a leader
      • If you’re interested in standing as the leader of the Creativity SIG, then please get in touch with sppa@ucl.ac.uk. It isn’t a major commitment, the SIGs activities are led by its membership, the leader will be responsible for reporting back on objectives and aims to the SPPA team.
    • Learning, led by Cecile Remy
    • Social Pedagogy, Association and Participation, led by Jameel Hadi and Thure Johansen
  • SPPA hosted a webinar with 2 learners on the Crossfields Level 3 Diploma in Social Pedagogy from Surrey County Council. This is now available to view on our website here. Future webinars include:
    • ‘Making the most out of your SPPA membership’ on Wednesday 25 April at 12.30pm. This will provide an insight into the resources available on the SPPA website, it will also be an opportunity to hear about the SIGs available and how SPPA membership can benefit you. Find out more and book here.
  • We opened our website resources to all non-members, in support of Open Education Week from Monday 5 March to Friday 9 March. Members-only resources are now once again restricted to membership. View our resources here.
  • The Crossfields Level 5 Diploma in Social Pedagogy is now launched. If you’re an organisation interested in commissioning the qualification, please see our information pack here.
  • SPPA is actively planning a campaign to raise our profile amongst policy-makers and other key organisations. The Trustee board has been meeting with key figures from Westminster, including Lyn Romeo (Chief Social Worker for Adults) and Lord Listowel (The Earl of Listowel).
    • This campaign is focused on social pedagogic approaches to well-being. We are drafting a flyer that will be distributed to allied organisations. We will be actively promoting social pedagogues and SPPA members throughout this campaign.

What else should we be doing? Please get in touch via sppa@ucl.ac.uk with suggestions for activities and events you would like SPPA to offer. We will do our best to support you and with an ever growing network we have the possibility to connect people ideas and resources across sectors, countries and fields of work. We look forward to hearing from you. You can join SPPA as a member. Find out more about our membership packages here.